Be Yourself: Differences Can Make You Special

Your strengths and limitations can be the key to the best you have to offer the world

by Emilio Estefan, AARP, August 27, 2014

Man on top of mountain, Emilio Estefan true to yourself

Live your best life through the adventure of experiences and memories. — Istock

En español | There's very little mystery in the Internet age. And I'm fine with that; I think it's impossible to be too honest. Especially with yourself.

So often we try to hide what makes us different, what we think limits us. And yet from the beginning, I succeeded by being a proud Cuban immigrant; different, but with a unique and special voice to share. The Latin beat of Miami Sound Machine; Larios and Bongos, the Cuban-themed restaurants Gloria and I opened; our hotels in Miami and Vero Beach — these are all ways we've celebrated and honored our heritage in our American home.

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Starting out as a poor immigrant in the U.S. could have been a stopper for me. So could have my attention deficit disorder (ADD), another perceived limitation. I had to learn to stay fully organized and focused, to finish the projects I started. But I've also found that ADD makes me work quickly on multiple tasks; I can produce three studio tracks when another producer is concentrating fully on one. And among the many directions my mind takes is thinking about the future — I often plan 10 years ahead. When the music business changed due to Internet downloads, I was already working on new ventures.

A challenge I share with many immigrants is having an accent. Since I came to the U.S. as a teenager and learned English late, as these things go, my accent is strong enough that people think I might not understand them. Restaurant waiters will ask me slowly, "W-o-u-l-d y-o-u l-i-k-e w-a-t-e-r?" And I respond, "It's me who has the accent, not you." Maybe people don't always understand me, either — but when I give a lecture, when I talk about where I came from, the audience knows it's authentic. And the upside to my accent? My wife tells me it's "v-e-r-y s-e-x-y."

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Sometimes limitations aren't strengths, I'm sad to say. When I put on my producer hat, I may have to admit to myself that I'm not the right percussionist for this particular sound I'm looking to achieve. So I put my ego aside and bring in the best. As a perfectionist, I want everything to come out exactly the way I expect. And when things don't, I learn from my mistakes — and that is always a positive lesson.

I hope the music professor who once tried to make me accept my limitations has learned something from his own mistake. When I asked him how to go about learning music, he told me I was too old. Here's what he saw: a 17-year-old with no formal musical education. Here's how I saw myself: a person who refused to live without the music I loved. Nineteen Grammys later, I think I can say I overcame the obstacles that I was faced with.

Be yourself: Your "limitations" can be the key to the best you have to offer the world.

Emilio Estefan is a music mogul, a restaurateur, a father, a husband and a philanthropist. As Life Reimagined ambassador for AARP, Emilio will share his expertise on a variety of subjects, including his passion for living, mentoring, entrepreneurship, philanthropy and much more.